North Coast 500 Virtual Challenge Progress Report February 21, 2023

virtual vs reality on February 21st

The kilometres are passing by and the virtual sights have been plentiful and beautiful!  Many history and geography lessons have been learned and I know loads more are still ahead of me.  I have been able to keep ahead of my mission yet at times it has taken an extra effort to cover distance.  Being in Banff National Park last week helped and the recent snowfall helped.  The lack of snow locally was leaving me unmotivated, brown in winter is not pretty.

the statistics at end of day February 21

 where I am along the route

This was the weather forecast in Scotland for around the time I was out & about in Calgary.  From what I hear and what I read, more than likely it would be overcast and showery and rainy in Scotland.  The virtual views have been otherwise which I believe is misleading me.  

After posting the distance covered today, I then clicked on "show me on street view".  I was along a tree lined rugged road but when I looked beyond the trees to see what was surrounding me, this was a virtual view I had.

my reality today

This was my weather reality today and those celsius temperatures do no include windchill!

It was approximately -26C with windchill when I hit the trail at Confluence Park.  We had a snowfall warning overnight and the snow continued to flurry down today.  Driving was forecasted as miserable so I did not venture far.  This photo is looking back at the path I broke.  

a detour into the forest

the sun was trying to break through and it did enough to create a pretty sight

swishing through untouched snow

The sights are just as sweet as the sounds!

A little while back when I checked to see were I was along the way, this is what the program showed.  This was where I was at end of day February 4th.  After completing and entering the day's distance....

....a postcard popped into my mailbox.

This is an excerpt from the story that came with this post card.  "Torridon is a great base for any climbing, hiking, mountaineering or wildlife spotting. It is surrounded by mountains and hills with plentiful trails to climb to the top and take in the splendid views in any direction. There are three main ridge climbing mountains: Liathach, Beinn Eighe and Beinn Alligin."

The wonderful views continued as I ventured along the route.  I reached a town called Gairloch.  These two photos are from google earth.  The Gairloch Church is located in such a beautiful setting. 

When I virtually passed through Gairloch, Scotland, it brought me back home.  

New Gairloch is a hop, skip and a jump from New Glasgow, the town I grew up in.  Red marker = New Gairloch; Orange star = New Glasgow.

The slogan for Pictou, which is a small town in Pictou County, is "the birthplace of New Scotland".  That birth occurred during the Highland Clearances in Scotland in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.  

This is the Gairloch Church in New Gairloch.  The photo was with a group of photos in a Pictou County  tourist website of local interesting sights to see.

This is the next postcard I received.  

Excerpt from post card:

"The village of Poolewe is located between mountains and the sea. It has the shortest river in Scotland, all of 1mi (1.6km) long which runs through the village connecting Loch Maree to Loch Ewe. On the shore of Loch Ewe is the Poolewe Hotel. Built in 1570 it was originally a coach inn and it seemed like a great place to rest and enjoy a meal of pan fried Scottish salmon with broccoli & garlic sauce, sauteed potatoes and cauliflower."

This is a view of the Poolewe Hotel & Cafe from along my virtual route.  What I found out while on this virtual challenge is most of the hotels and cafes are either permanently or temporarily closed.  Some due to being seasonal businesses while others I can only imagine may be due to age or lack of business when our world changed. 

view of Gruinard Bay from along the route, from google earth

When I reached the 279 kms mark, I found myself in Dundonnell.

While I enjoyed all the other virtual challenges I took on, this one is becoming my favourite.  I only covered 35% of the distance so far and was curious as to what is facing me.  I took a peek along the route ahead and I am already looking forward to getting there.